Mobile phone photography has become an important way for us to record life and express emotions. However, mastering composition techniques is crucial if you want to take eye-catching photos. It can make ordinary scenes radiate unique charm.

Central Composition: Highlighting the Subject, Simple and Clear

Central composition is one of the most basic and commonly used composition methods. That is to place the subject to be photographed in the center of the picture, which can quickly attract the viewers’ attention and make the subject stand out. For example, when photographing a delicate and beautiful flower, if you put it in the center of the picture with a simple and clean background, the color and shape of the flower can be clearly displayed, giving people a distinct and direct visual impact. When taking a close-up of a person, the central composition can also focus on the facial expressions and demeanor of the person well, allowing the person’s emotions to be conveyed delicately. However, it should be noted that excessive use of central composition may make the picture look a bit monotonous, so it should be used skillfully according to the shooting theme and scene.

Rule of Thirds Composition: Balancing the Picture, Adding Dynamism

The rule of thirds composition divides the picture into a nine-grid according to the golden section ratio. Placing the subject that you want to highlight on the four intersection points of the dividing lines or distributing it along the dividing lines can make the picture more balanced, harmonious, dynamic and vibrant. When taking landscape photos, you can place the horizon at the upper or lower third, so that the proportion of the sky and the ground is coordinated and the picture will not be unbalanced. When taking photos combining people and scenery, if the person is located at the intersection point and the background scenery is naturally distributed, the two will set off each other and the picture will have a stronger sense of hierarchy and artistic conception.

Symmetrical Composition: Creating Order, Strengthening Stability

Symmetrical composition constructs the picture by using the symmetrical relationship of the scenery in the picture. It is suitable for shooting architectures, reflections and other themes. For example, the reflection of a building on a calm lake and the building itself form a symmetry, and the picture is completely symmetrical up and down or left and right, giving people a sense of order, stability and solemnity. When shooting ancient architectures, taking the central axis of the architecture as the benchmark, the left and right symmetrical structure shows the classical beauty and majesty. However, if symmetrical composition is used improperly, it is easy to make the picture look dull. Appropriate introduction of some asymmetrical elements can break the deadlock and increase the interest of the picture.

Leading Lines Composition: Guiding the Line of Sight, Extending Space

Leading lines composition guides the viewers’ line of sight with the help of lines, making the subject more prominent and also enhancing the sense of space and depth of the picture. In life, roads, railings, rivers and so on can all be used as leading lines. When photographing a winding mountain path that extends from the bottom of the picture to the distance, the viewers’ line of sight will move along the path, and the beautiful scenery such as distant mountains and trees will come into view, making people feel as if they were on the scene. When using leading lines composition, the lines should be simple and clear to avoid being too messy and affecting the visual effect.

Framing Composition: Focusing on the Subject, Adding Layers

Framing composition uses objects in the foreground to form a frame and frames the subject within it, which plays a role in highlighting the subject and increasing the layers and depth of the picture. For example, when shooting the courtyard scenery through old doors and windows, the doors and windows become the frame and the courtyard scenery becomes the focal point in the center of the picture, which not only highlights the beauty of the scenery but also endows the picture with a sense of story and history. When photographing people, using the surrounding branches and leaves to form a natural frame can make the people in the frame look more vivid and the picture more artistically appealing.

Mobile phone photography composition techniques are rich and diverse, and each has its unique charm and applicable scenes. In actual shooting, we need to choose and use them flexibly according to the shooting object, scene atmosphere and the emotions we want to express.